LABORING ON LABOR DAY

September 4, 1961

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Eighteen wrestlers, including four girl grapplers, will make up the summer's biggest wrestling card, which is tonight at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM.

Headlining the big LABOR DAY spectacular will be a tag team match which pits two teams noted for rough tactics and no regard for the rule book.

One of the year's rowdiest bouts will occur when the German brother team of KURT and KARL VON BRAUNER meet THE MASKED MEDICS.

'GENTLEMAN' SAUL WEINEGROFF will be in the corner of the Germans, as usual, displaying his managerial skills.

THE MEDICS, who claim they were both kicked out of medical school for not following "protocol", say they will handle WEINEGROFF if he gets out of line.

Both teams have cut wide paths in tag team avenues since coming here, so something's gotta give in this two-out-of-three falls clash.

KURT and KARL VON BRAUNER

with 'GENTLEMAN' SAUL WEINEGROFF

THE MEDICS

JOHNNY VALENTINE

CHIEF BIG HEART

P.Y. CHUNG

GEORGE BECKER

EDDIE GRAHAM

The co-main event also packs a wallop when popular Osage Indian star CHIEF BIG HEART faces rugged JOHNNY VALENTINE.

Then come the girls as BABS WINGO joins forces with LULA MAE PROVO to meet RAMONA ISABEL and PEARL BATES.

Yet another tag encounter has fan favorite GEORGE BECKER teaming with New Zealander ABE JACOBS to meet LAVERNE BAXTER and TOMMY O'TOOLE.

'DOCTOR' EDDIE GRAHAM will test Oriental P.Y. CHUNG, and the 8:15 opener sends RAY VILLMER opposite GYPSY JOE.

Advance tickets on sale at THE NATIONAL HAT SHOP in downtown CHARLOTTE and at the COLISEUM box office.

HOMER IN HOT WATER

October 31, 1964

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

THE KENTUCKIANS

TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN

GEORGE BECKER

BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI

THE BEAST

GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

RUDY KAYE

JESSE JAMES
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The HOMER O'DELL gang may find their Halloween to be a haunting one tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA when they face THE KENTUCKIANS, TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN, and their hero partner GEORGE BECKER.

It's tonight's big main event.

Last Saturday night, O'DELL, after losing one fall to BECKER, tucked tail and ran like a scalded dog, bringing an abrupt ending to their match. Tonight, the 'COLONEL' will have his two rulebreaking men, BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI, to cower behind during their SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH. O'DELL will need that protection in the best-of-three falls match, as BECKER wants another piece of HOMER's hide for his taking a powder last time. THE KENTUCKIANS have promised to look after BOGNI and LUBICH.

Another big crowd is expected to witness this big contest, as well as the three fine supporting matches on the card.

DOUG GILBERT will test PEDRO ZAPATA.

RUDY KAYE faces THE BEAST. *

JESSE JAMES squares off against GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS in the 8:15 opener.

* Rudy Kaye and The Beast were, in fact, brothers. Rudy's real name was Jean-Louis Cormier. The Beast was Yvon Cormier.

MACW MEANT ACTION

All of the announcers on the various MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING TV shows used to say the fans in the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS territory were the best wrestling fans in the world.

Maybe we were...at least we'd like to think so.

If, indeed, that was true, it was to a large degree because we witnessed the greatest professional wrestling in the world.

Whether it was the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, JCP gave its fans the top stars in the business, and they promoted their product well.

It was definitely a relationship between a company and its customers in which all parties benefited...tough to find something like that today.

KURT VON STEIGER lays it on BOBBY KAYE.

BRONCO LUBICH distracts the referee while his manager HOMER O'DELL makes use of his cane on a hapless opponent.


GREG VALENTINE and JACK BRISCO in the heat of battle.

A bit of double-teaming by THE INFERNOS.

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN clamps a chin lock on PAUL JONES.

WORLD CHAMP IN CHARLOTTE

JANUARY 2, 1961

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

The complete card for tonight's professional wrestling at PARK CENTER has been finalized and announced by promoter JIM CROCKETT.

The New Year will kick off with the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, PAT O'CONNOR, risking his title against top contender DANNY McSHANE.

Newcomers MAURICE and PAUL VACHON, brothers from Canada, take on FRANKIE CAIN * and BOBBY WINDER in a semifinal tag battle.

Both the championship match and the tag team match are set for the best two-out-of-three falls.

The main prelim has THE BRUTE going against another Charlotte newcomer, HAPPY HUMPHREY, a mammoth 700 pounder from Macon, Georgia.

The card's 8:15 opening bout features WALDO VON ERICH battling BOB NANDOR in a one fall, twenty minute match.

* FRANKIE CAIN later became one of the original INFERNOS.

ALWAYS PLENTY OF ACTION

Women yes...Ladies maybe...

BETTY BOUCHER slams LINDA CARROLL to the concrete floor.

HARLEY RACE and DUSTY RHODES go at it.

NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION RIC FLAIR versus PAUL JONES.

Two true legends of the business...

GENE ANDERSON and JOHNNY WEAVER

JOE LE DUC slams STEVE STRONG.

STEVE KEIRN whips BOB ORTON JR. into the ring corner.

WAHOO MCDANIEL about to taste the ringpost at the hands of KIM DUK.

RIC

Let's be honest...has ANYONE done more for the professional wrestling business than

RIC FLAIR?

He may have some close rivals in specific areas, but, overall, I can think of no one who can top him 'across the board'.

We all know of some big names in the business who may have been more marketable, but when it came time to go to work, their matches were usually horrible, unless an opponent of FLAIR's caliber 'carried' them through the match.

After all, 'posing' only goes so far.

The common theme throughout FLAIR's career is RESPECT. The man truly respects the business, the wrestlers who went before him, the people who helped him in the business and the current workers who now carry the torch who put the business first. He strongly believes that NO ONE IN THE BUSINESS should be BIGGER THAN THE BUSINESS ITSELF.

And in return, he expects respect for what he has done for wrestling.

That's not asking too much.

He certainly has mine.

STYLIN' and PROFILIN'

Slugging it out in the ring...

Battling WAHOO MCDANIEL.

The matches with the Chief put FLAIR on the JCP map.

I'd love to know who is on the other end of this call.

"SLICK RIC FLAIR IS NO. 1" says the shirt he wears early in his JCP career.

NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPS

September 22, 1962

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

56 Years Ago

There are new SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS in the pro wrestling world, and the title holders will defend their newly-coveted belts in tonight's main event at the LEXINGTON YMCA.

DON CURTIS and JOE SCARPA, who recently annexed the championship from the German duo of KURT and KARL VON BRAUNER, make their local debuts tonight when they defend their titles against the rugged bully team of SWEDE HANSON and P.Y. CHUNG in a best-of-three falls contest.

HANSON and CHUNG would like to make the new champs' title reign a short one by dethroning them tonight. The challengers are tough enough to do so.

Popular young star JOHNNY WEAVER, who has created quite the sensation since arriving on the local wrestling scene several months ago, will meet SID JONES in what looks to be a scientific semi-final two-out-of-three falls match.

The 8:15 opener sends 'Roughhouse' SONNY FARGO against the equally rugged, but larger, GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS.

JOE SCARPA later wrestled as CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW.

BECKER MEETS A MAMMOTH

January 7, 1961

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

Wrestling fans, who have been waiting out a two week holiday period of action at the LEXINGTON YMCA, will be treated to a big four bout card tonight starting at 8:15.

The sensational brother team from Peru, LEE and JOE GARCIA, will meet the unusual combination of the Oriental P.Y. CHUNG and Spain's JAN MADRID in the evening's two-out-of-three falls main event. CHUNG is making his Lexington debut tonight.

In a special attraction, HAPPY HUMPHREY, a 750 lb. behemoth from Georgia, makes his debut here and will face the ever-popular GEORGE BECKER.

In the prelims, WALDO VON ERICH battles JIM QUEEN, and BILLY COX squares off against MARK STONE in the opening match.

GEORGE BECKER

WALDO VON ERICH

LEXINGTON, N.C. YMCA

CLASH OF THE TITANS

In 1981 and 2010, movie goers could visit their local theatres to see an adventure / fantasy production entitled CLASH OF THE TITANS.

However, some years earlier, fans of JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS could witness

their own CLASH when two of the longest-running and most vicious heel tag teams went at it.

It was RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON (The Blonde Bombers) versus GENE and OLE ANDERSON (The Minnesota Wrecking Crew).

Here's a 1972 card featuring the BATTLE OF THE BULLIES match as held in RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

OLE ANDERSON and RIP HAWK throw the rule book out the window.

OLE has the upper hand on RIP.

RIP appears to be on the attack as Manager 'Playboy' GARY HART looks on.

Hey, get down off that ring apron, Gary.

HAWK in trouble again.

Generally, when wrestling another heel team, the crowds pulled for RIP and SWEDE. I remember that to be the case when they wrestled ALDO BOGNI and BRONCO LUBICH, BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY and THE INFERNOS.

The only time I ever saw GENE and OLE getting the cheers was when they tangled with RIC FLAIR and GREG VALENTINE.

TEXANS versus BOMBERS

July 20, 1968

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

PAUL JONES and NELSON ROYAL

BRONCHO LUBICH, MGR. GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS, ALDO BOGNI

PAUL DEMARCO

JESSE JAMES

---

A rematch of a thriller of several weeks ago features wrestling tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA with the 'BLONDE BOMBERS', RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON, meeting the popular Texas duo of NELSON ROYAL and PAUL JONES.

The last time the two teams met, each had a fall when the one hour time limit ran out, and a draw was declared. Neither team being satisfied with letting it go at that, both combos have asked for a rematch. Requests granted. Both teams predict a victory in tonight's best two-out-of-three falls battle.

In another two-of-three-falls match, the hero unit of young PAUL DEMARCO and BOBBY NICHOLS will challenge the rugged duo of ALDO BOGNI and BRONCHO LUBICH, who will be joined by their pesky manager GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS.

In supporting singles matches, JACK RICO meets the wily PANCHO VALDEZ, and JESSE JAMES takes on FRANK HICKEY in the 8:15 opener.

After tonight's card, professional wrestling at the LEXINGTON YMCA will be discontinued for a temporary basis until late September. The reason is the extreme hot weather that has made the YMCA gymnasium uncomfortable for large crowds. Wrestling fans are reminded that this move is only a temporary one until cooler weather arrives.